Here's good news for Heavy Seas fans -- a Heavy Seas Ale House is coming to Baltimore. The location is the Old Holland Tack Factory, most recently the home of Diablita, which closed in late 2010. The restaurant is being developed by Patrick Dahlgren, co-owner of the Rowhouse Grille in Federal Hill, who happens to be the stepson of Heavy Seas founder Hugh Sisson. "I love the symmetry," Sisson said in the press release making the announcement, The pub business launched my craft beer career. How cool is it that my brewing career will further the pub profession of my stepson?

At Sunday's Art Outside event, local artists and crafters will gather at Druid Hill Park in a revival of sorts of the city's free al-fresco community art festivals of the 1950s and 1960s. Among the artists will be 28-year-old Brian Behm, also a designer and musician, who returns for the second year to Art Outside (11 a.m.-5 p.m.; artoutsidemd.org ). Behm, who lives in Windsor Hills, said he will showcase some of his large-scale paintings at Art Outside, but will also have for sale some pieces he has been working on recently - sunset scenery and city skyline paintings (go to briancbehm.com for more information)

At Sunday's Art Outside event, local artists and crafters will gather at Druid Hill Park in a revival of sorts of the city's free al-fresco community art festivals of the 1950s and 1960s. Among the artists will be 28-year-old Brian Behm, also a designer and musician, who returns for the second year to Art Outside (11 a.m.-5 p.m.; artoutsidemd.org ). Behm, who lives in Windsor Hills, said he will showcase some of his large-scale paintings at Art Outside, but will also have for sale some pieces he has been working on recently - sunset scenery and city skyline paintings (go to briancbehm.com for more information)

There are so many things to admire about Heavy Seas Alehouse, the thoroughly winning new establishment in Little Italy's Holland Tack Factory. There is the understated, comfortable decor, mercifully free of pirate paraphernalia. (Frankly, I was worried about that.) The smartly conceived menu from executive chef Matt Seeber is instantly appealing and accessible, and is being executed with impressive confidence. The front-of-house staff is welcoming and impressively trained. They're fully on board with this new project, and their pride comes through.

There are so many things to admire about Heavy Seas Alehouse, the thoroughly winning new establishment in Little Italy's Holland Tack Factory. There is the understated, comfortable decor, mercifully free of pirate paraphernalia. (Frankly, I was worried about that.) The smartly conceived menu from executive chef Matt Seeber is instantly appealing and accessible, and is being executed with impressive confidence. The front-of-house staff is welcoming and impressively trained. They're fully on board with this new project, and their pride comes through.

Federal Hill will get another beer bar before the end of the year. Called the Brewer's Cask, it will take up Muggsys' old space on Light Street. With 20 beers on tap, the bar is unapologetically going after a specific crowd: "Beer snobbies!" as it says on its website. Its motto is "Love Thy Beer. " Cask's owner Jason Stevens said he started leasing the business after another beer haven, Muggsys's, closed in June. He and a partner " have touched just about every inch of the interior by refinishing floors, bar, kitchen, tables, chairs and just about everything else you can think of," he said in an e-mail.

Brewer's Cask, the new Federal Hill beer outpost, is finally open. Owner Jason Stevens said the bar opened last Thursday, the same morning the bar got its liquor license. But some of its amenities weren't immediately fully operational. The registers were only taking cash and the kegs hadn't arrived. Everything's up and running now, Stevens said. Last Fall, Brewer's took over the space where Muggsys's had been until June, when owner Danny Young closed because the bar had been struggling financiall y. He blamed competition from neighborhood bars, like The Abbey and Metropolitan.

Like a high school reunion where all the alumni try to look their best, brewers show off their rarest, most distinct product during Baltimore Beer Week. Count on all the major Maryland brewers pulling out beers that have been especially brewed for the events or haven't been sold in years. And stock up, because some of them may not come back to the market until next beer week. Here are three you should try: Anything cask-conditioned Cask-conditioned beers are much sought-after this year, and several brewers are tapping special casks for beer week.

SURRY, Va. - The huge white casks are arrayed in two rows like sentinels atop a reinforced concrete pad a few hundred yards from the twin reactors at the Surry Power Station here.The metal casks - each weighing more than 100 tons - contain used fuel assemblies from the Surry reactors. They are warm to the touch, evidence of the tremendous heat from the radioactive fuel within. During winter, light snows melt quickly from the 16-foot-high casks, leaving the pad bare and dry.The shielded casks emit only minute amounts of radiation - barely enough to measure at the perimeter of the storage pad. They are designed to withstand lightning and hurricane-force winds.

Eleven days, nearly 300 events, more than 50 venues. Baltimore Beer Week, now in its third year, has certainly grown. Hugh Sisson, the founder of Heavy Seas Beer, is the lead sponsor of this year's Beer Week, as he's been for the past two years. He got involved early on because he saw the 11-day event as a platform to promote the city's burgeoning craft beer scene. In that role, he's had a front-row seat to its evolution since 2009. What's different this year from years past?

Federal Hill already has Metropolitan, the Abbey Burger Bistro and Bluegrass - bars that are known for their ample beer lists. Even the Don't Know Tavern has 30 draft lines. Until last summer, there had also been Muggsy's, Danny Young's cozy beer outpost on Light Street. But because of the competition and a limiting six-day liquor license, Muggsy's closed. To replace it, there's now Brewer's Cask, which if you couldn't tell from its name, has the slogan, "Love Thy Beer" to let you know exactly what kind of bar it is. Leave it to a beer bar to beget another beer bar. If you hadn't been to Muggsy's, this new bar looks deceptively small from the outside.

Brewer's Cask, the new Federal Hill beer outpost, is finally open. Owner Jason Stevens said the bar opened last Thursday, the same morning the bar got its liquor license. But some of its amenities weren't immediately fully operational. The registers were only taking cash and the kegs hadn't arrived. Everything's up and running now, Stevens said. Last Fall, Brewer's took over the space where Muggsys's had been until June, when owner Danny Young closed because the bar had been struggling financiall y. He blamed competition from neighborhood bars, like The Abbey and Metropolitan.

Federal Hill will get another beer bar before the end of the year. Called the Brewer's Cask, it will take up Muggsys' old space on Light Street. With 20 beers on tap, the bar is unapologetically going after a specific crowd: "Beer snobbies!" as it says on its website. Its motto is "Love Thy Beer. " Cask's owner Jason Stevens said he started leasing the business after another beer haven, Muggsys's, closed in June. He and a partner " have touched just about every inch of the interior by refinishing floors, bar, kitchen, tables, chairs and just about everything else you can think of," he said in an e-mail.

Here's good news for Heavy Seas fans -- a Heavy Seas Ale House is coming to Baltimore. The location is the Old Holland Tack Factory, most recently the home of Diablita, which closed in late 2010. The restaurant is being developed by Patrick Dahlgren, co-owner of the Rowhouse Grille in Federal Hill, who happens to be the stepson of Heavy Seas founder Hugh Sisson. "I love the symmetry," Sisson said in the press release making the announcement, The pub business launched my craft beer career. How cool is it that my brewing career will further the pub profession of my stepson?

Eleven days, nearly 300 events, more than 50 venues. Baltimore Beer Week, now in its third year, has certainly grown. Hugh Sisson, the founder of Heavy Seas Beer, is the lead sponsor of this year's Beer Week, as he's been for the past two years. He got involved early on because he saw the 11-day event as a platform to promote the city's burgeoning craft beer scene. In that role, he's had a front-row seat to its evolution since 2009. What's different this year from years past?

Like a high school reunion where all the alumni try to look their best, brewers show off their rarest, most distinct product during Baltimore Beer Week. Count on all the major Maryland brewers pulling out beers that have been especially brewed for the events or haven't been sold in years. And stock up, because some of them may not come back to the market until next beer week. Here are three you should try: Anything cask-conditioned Cask-conditioned beers are much sought-after this year, and several brewers are tapping special casks for beer week.

ROCKVILLE -- A new round of testing has found that casks used to transport dangerous nuclear waste are capable of surviving a catastrophe such as Baltimore's Howard Street Tunnel fire with no more than minor releases of radioactivity, according to a report presented to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel yesterday. NRC experts found that one of three types of cylinders commonly used to carry spent nuclear fuel would withstand such a fire with no radioactive release whatsoever. They said a fire as hot as the 2001 Howard Street blaze could breach the seals on two other cask models, but concluded that the amount of radioactive material released would be "very small."

Federal Hill already has Metropolitan, the Abbey Burger Bistro and Bluegrass - bars that are known for their ample beer lists. Even the Don't Know Tavern has 30 draft lines. Until last summer, there had also been Muggsy's, Danny Young's cozy beer outpost on Light Street. But because of the competition and a limiting six-day liquor license, Muggsy's closed. To replace it, there's now Brewer's Cask, which if you couldn't tell from its name, has the slogan, "Love Thy Beer" to let you know exactly what kind of bar it is. Leave it to a beer bar to beget another beer bar. If you hadn't been to Muggsy's, this new bar looks deceptively small from the outside.

ROCKVILLE -- A new round of testing has found that casks used to transport dangerous nuclear waste are capable of surviving a catastrophe such as Baltimore's Howard Street Tunnel fire with no more than minor releases of radioactivity, according to a report presented to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel yesterday. NRC experts found that one of three types of cylinders commonly used to carry spent nuclear fuel would withstand such a fire with no radioactive release whatsoever. They said a fire as hot as the 2001 Howard Street blaze could breach the seals on two other cask models, but concluded that the amount of radioactive material released would be "very small."

SURRY, Va. - The huge white casks are arrayed in two rows like sentinels atop a reinforced concrete pad a few hundred yards from the twin reactors at the Surry Power Station here.The metal casks - each weighing more than 100 tons - contain used fuel assemblies from the Surry reactors. They are warm to the touch, evidence of the tremendous heat from the radioactive fuel within. During winter, light snows melt quickly from the 16-foot-high casks, leaving the pad bare and dry.The shielded casks emit only minute amounts of radiation - barely enough to measure at the perimeter of the storage pad. They are designed to withstand lightning and hurricane-force winds.